Most textile treatment agents for stain release, water repellency and oil repellency currently require industrial baths with high concentrations of chemicals followed by curing at high temperatures (substantially above 100° C.) often in commercial drying ovens. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,251,210 to Bullock et al. discloses a dual system consisting of a first treatment with at least 5 weight % fluorochemical textile agent followed by at least one secondary treatment with at least 4 weight % fluorochemical textile agent. The textile agent comprises, in addition to the fluorochemical, a urethane latex, a compatible acrylate latex and a cross-linking resin. The first treatment uses a low solids latex having a glass transition temperature from 10° C. to 35° C. The second treatment is a high solids latex having the consistency of wood glue or wallpaper paste, applied to one side of the fabric, and having a glass transition temperature from −40° C. to −10° C. This combined commercial treatment system is to produce a fabric that is liquid repellent, stain resistant, and is easy to handle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,047,065 to Vogel et al. describes the combination of a perfluoroaliphatic group-bearing water/oil repellent agent dispersion, an emulsifiable polyethylene dispersion, and a soft-hand extender based on a modified hydrogen alkyl polysiloxane. The compositions are padded onto fabric at a concentration of 70-150 g/L and then cured at 150° C.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,019,281 to Singer et al. describes the combination of a water-soluble C9-C24 quaternary ammonium salts of alkyl phosphonic acid, a separate C12-C24 quaternary ammonium compound, and a dispersed polyethylene wax. The compositions are padded onto fabric at a concentration of 30 g/L and then cured at 110° C.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,153,046 to Murphy describes the combination of fluorochemical textile antisoilant, lubricant, and combination of cationic and nonionic surfactants. The compositions are intended for commercial application to nylon yarns.
Water-proofing has traditionally been performed with solvent-based wax and wax-like coating commonly using paraffin wax, chlorinated paraffin waxes, and ethylene/vinyl acetate waxes such as those materials cited in U.S. Pat. No. 4,027,062 to Englebrecht et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,833,006 to McKinney et al. It is also possible to make fabrics liquid resistant by using silicone materials commonly known in the art.
Some technologies have been developed to provide a fabric benefit on direct application or as an ironing aid. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,532,023 to Vogel et al. describes the post-wash use of silicones and film-forming polymer for use on damp or dry clothing to relax wrinkles. The composition is sprayed on the fabric and then ironed or stretched by hand for wrinkle reduction benefit. There is no indication that the composition can be applied in the wash.
Products that are applied directly on the fabric, for instance by spraying followed by curing with an iron or in a hot dryer at high temperatures, such as above 100° C., suffer several disadvantages. Usually, a thick or uneven coat results, which gives areas of incomplete oil and water repellency and a fabric hand feel that lacks softness. These products can also decrease the porosity of fabric, resulting in uncomfortable conditions for the wearer during use. An additional drawback of direct application products is that they cannot be used on fabrics that are already stained or soiled because they lock in stains and soils.
Fluoropolymers and hydrophobic agents have previously been suggested for laundry use. U.S. Pat. No. 6,075,003 to Haq et al. disclose the use of fluoropolymers with cationic fabric softeners. U.S. Pat. No. 5,910,557 to Audenaert et. al. discloses the use of fluorochemical polyurethane compounds to impart oil and water repellency. These patents do not suggest the additional use of hydrophobic agents with fluoropolymers in the wash for combined oil and water repellency, while maintaining a soft hand. The use of generally less expensive hydrophobic agents, such as wax, allows products whose value is more acceptable to the consumer.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,180,740 to Fitzgerald describes an aqueous emulsion containing a fluorocopolymer composition that provides oil-and water-repellency to textiles. The composition is apparently stable under conditions of high alkalinity, high anionic concentration, and/or high shear conditions. The stability of emulsions having either positive or negative zeta potentials is said to be achieved by controlling the relative amounts of cationic and anionic surfactants. Emulsions with a positive zeta potential are desirable for applications where the emulsion is used to apply a coating to textile fabrics, which are typically anionic in character. Fabric treatment requires drying at relative high temperatures of between 110° C. to 190° C.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,379,753 to Soane et al. describes methods for modifying textile materials to render them, for example, water repellant by covalently bonding multifunctional molecules to the textile material. The multifunctional molecules are polymers with plural functional groups or regions, such as binding groups, hydrophobic groups, and hydrophilic groups and oleophobic groups.
As can be seen there is a need for a product that offers the controlled and even coating of commercial treatment operations with the convenience and ease of home use. Additionally the coating should be cured at temperatures that are attainable in commonly available residential dryers as curing at high temperatures makes the coating excessively durable typically resulting in an unfavorable handfeel owing to excessive build up over numerous treatment cycles. Furthermore, the reduced temperature curing results in not only improved handfeel, it allows for an easily reversible and/or removable coating. Such a transient coating reduces coating build up over multiple applications or treatments that result in poor handfeel, and also reduces the potential for leaving a visible residue or causing all undesirable changes in appearance, such as yellowing or discoloration of white or lighted colored fabrics. The product should also not lock in pre-existing stains or soils and thereby ruin fabrics, including clothes.